JPH0341234Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic bath device that pours hot water or water down to a set water level in a bathtub.

(Conventional technology and problems) Conventionally, hot water is supplied to the bathtub by connecting a drop-in circuit to the bath circuit, but an automatic system that provides a water flow detector in the drop-in circuit and supplies hot water to the bathtub at a set flow rate Bath equipment is known. (For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60-60450) However, this conventional system has a drawback that when there is residual hot water in the bathtub, automatic hot water supply causes the water level to exceed the desired bathtub water level.

In addition, it has been known to detect the bath water level by installing a water level detector in the bathtub, but if the device is installed at a remote location from the bathtub, the water level detector is connected from the bathtub to the device itself. The construction was troublesome because a cord had to be installed and care had to be taken to prevent cord breakage and electrical leakage due to water leakage.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides an automatic bath device that can detect the water level of the bathtub in the device body located remotely from the bathtub, and can automatically supply hot water to the set water level regardless of the presence or absence of water remaining in the bathtub. purpose.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention accomplishes the following. In other words, it has a bath circuit connected to the bathtub via a pump, a drop-in circuit connected to the bath circuit, and a pressure detection tube branched from the bath circuit and equipped with a pressure sensor in the middle to connect to the bathtub. Hot water can be supplied to the pressure detection tube via a switching valve provided in the bath circuit or in the middle of the pressure detection tube.

(Function) At the initial stage of automatic hot water supply, hot water supplied from the dropping circuit is passed through the switching valve to the pressure detection tube, thereby the air in the pressure detection tube is discharged, and the pressure sensor outputs a pressure based on the water level in the bathtub. The water level in the bathtub is detected by a pressure sensor while the switching valve is switched to forcefully send hot water from the bath circuit to the bathtub, and when the output of the pressure sensor reaches a set value, hot water supply is stopped.

(Example) Figure 1 shows an example of the present invention.
is the main body of the automatic bath device located at a remote location from the bathtub 2. 3 is an outgoing pipe that connects to the bathtub 2 via a pump 4 and a bath heat exchanger 5 on the way; 6 is a return pipe that connects the bathtub 2 to a three-way switching valve 7 at the starting end of the outgoing pipe 3; A bath circuit A is formed by the return pipe 6. B is a drop circuit connected to the three-way switching valve 7 of the bath circuit A via a hot water supply heat exchanger 8, a solenoid valve 9, and a hopper 10 open to the atmosphere.

A switching valve 1 is provided on the downstream side of the outgoing pipe 3 from the pump 4.
A pressure sensing tube 12 is connected via 1. The pressure detection tube 12 is connected to the bathtub 2 with a pressure sensor 13 provided therebetween.

The present embodiment has such a configuration, and the operation during automatic hot water supply will be explained next.

First, the air in the pressure detection tube 12 is discharged so that the pressure sensor 13 can detect the pressure based on the water level in the bathtub 2. That is, the switching valve 11 is switched to the pressure detection tube 12 side, hot water is supplied from the hot water supply circuit B, and the pump 4 is operated to flow hot water from the pressure detection tube 12 into the bathtub 2. As a result, the air inside the pressure sensing tube 12 is discharged and the inside of the tube is filled with hot water. Next, the switching valve 11
is switched to the outgoing pipe 3 side, hot water is supplied from the outgoing pipe 3 to the bathtub 2, and the output of the pressure sensor 13 is detected. In other words, the pressure based on the water level in the bathtub 2 can be detected via the pressure detection tube 12 while hot water is being force-fed from the outgoing pipe 5 to the bathtub 2, and the hot water supply can be stopped when the output of the pressure sensor 13 reaches the set value. Automatic hot water supply to the set water level is completed.

In this way, hot water is supplied while detecting the water level in the bathtub 2 at a remote location via the pressure detection tube 12 introduced into the main body 1 of the device, so even if there is residual water in the bathtub 2 before hot water supply starts, the set water level will be exceeded. There is no need to worry about running out of water.

By the way, if there is no residual water, even if the air in the pressure detection tube 12 is first discharged and the water is filled, the pressure detection tube 12 will be drained until the water level in the bathtub 2 reaches the connection height of the pressure detection tube 12. There is a possibility that the water in 12 is replaced with air. To deal with this, hot water can be flowed by switching the switching valve 11 to the pressure detection tube 12 side at appropriate time intervals during hot water supply, but the pressure detection tube 12 is different from the outflow pipe 3 and the return pipe 6. In contrast, it is sufficient to use pipes with the smallest possible diameter, so the water in the pipes is almost never replaced by air, and even if hot water is flushed to release air during hot water supply, the number of times the hot water is flushed is minimal. , and the time required for this is also short.

(Effects of the invention) The invention has the following excellent effects. In other words, a pressure detection tube can be introduced into the main body of the device and a pressure sensor can be installed in the main body, and hot water can be supplied while detecting the water level in a bathtub located at a remote location, regardless of whether or not there is water remaining in the bathtub. It is possible to supply hot water up to the water level. Furthermore, since hot water can be supplied to the pressure detection tube via the switching valve, the air inside the tube can be exhausted to prevent false detection by the pressure sensor.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1... Apparatus body, 2... Bathtub, 3... Outgoing pipe, 4... Pump, 6... Return pipe, 11... Switching valve, 12... Pressure detection tube, 13... Pressure sensor, A... Bath circuit, B... Dropping circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a bath device in which a drop-in circuit is connected to a bath circuit that forcibly circulates bath water using a pump, and hot water is supplied to the bathtub via the bath circuit, a pressure sensor is connected to the bathtub by branching from the bath circuit and providing a pressure sensor in the middle. An automatic bath device characterized in that a pipe is provided and hot water can be supplied to the pressure detection pipe via a switching valve.